Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-13-Speech-2-212"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20010213.9.2-212"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
". – Mr President, I would like first of all to say to Mr Färm by that if he examines the Staff Regulations to which Mr Asp is subject, then he will see the basis on which he was written to by his former employing authority and he will see that what was said in that letter was entirely in keeping with the regulations and the requirements of communication – no more, no less.
Mr Andersson may have his own view about the case that was referred to in the TV documentary. That is not what this question is about and it is not what my letter to Mrs Gradin was about, but he is a democrat and he will understand. In Sweden, as in any other Member State, or democratic society, caution must be exercised in making a declaration about anyone who has been acquitted of a particular charge that could imply defamation of that person. That is a general rule that is understood and upheld by democrats everywhere, but in the case of the Commission as an employing institution, as I pointed out earlier, there is an additional implication that if a Commission official is attacked and if it is a Commission official in a specific case who has been acquitted under due process of a charge, than that official can make claims upon the Commission and therefore on taxpayers' money under Article 24 of the Staff Regulations in order to fight that case of alleged defamation.
The point that I made to Mrs Gradin, which I am sure she completely understands – especially since I explained in full in my most recent letter, simply relates to that legal reality and the proper discharge of the functions of the Commission as a legally constituted organisation with obligations set down in law in the form of the Staff Regulations.
Mr Andersson may have his own views about the particular cases referred to in the TV documentary. He is entitled to those views whether they are right, wrong, substantiated or otherwise, but he will understand, I am certain, that all the actions taken in relation to people named in that television documentary, and one in particular, relate to the legal questions – as I emphasised in my letter to Mrs Gradin and in my earlier reply – and not to wider judgments which may be a matter entirely for Mr Andersson's view and his own conscience. I will not say or do anything at any point which could result in unfair and unjustified charges on the Commission, the European Union and on the taxpayers' money, when there are other means of ensuring that the law is upheld so far as individuals are concerned.
I say to Mr Gahrton that the problem is not one of transparency in this case, it is of the deficiencies either of his hearing or his understanding. What I said was not ridiculous. I will send him a copy of my reply and when I have the agreement of Mrs Gradin for the release of the letters that we exchanged, including my personal letter to her of 25 January, written in an official capacity, he can see it. But I am sure that he will understand, as someone who observes the courtesies and recognises the basis on which a personal letter is written, that it is not for me to release a letter which I wrote to Mrs Gradin. If Mrs Gradin wants to release it or gives me permission to release it, that is absolutely fine with me and, as I said, she has indicated by an indirect route that she would be agreeable to that. I am not surprised at that – I know Anita Gradin very well – but until I have formal confirmation I cannot release the letter. It is not in any way a secret.
I simply hope that Mr Gahrton's powers of comprehension will advance greatly by the time that he reads the letter because he did not show much evidence in the course of his contribution of having any more than the most rudimentary understanding."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples